


sentinel

by oryx



Category: Kamen Rider Zero-One
Genre: Gen, Mid-Canon, mind sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23751520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oryx/pseuds/oryx
Summary: On the topic of working security.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	sentinel

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i have yet to see a single zero-one i just love fuwa via osmosis

_  
Why do you not laugh?_  
  
His fingers, drumming out a tense rhythm against his thigh, go still. It’s quiet today, “peaceful” even, but Isamu can’t let himself relax. Not with everything that’s pressing in from all sides, often unseen but always present. In the background, Izu is explaining the specifics of small business tax forms to Hiden, who is nodding in a way that seems to indicate a total lack of understanding. His face lights up, his smile relieved and grateful as she offers to take care of them for him, with only his signature needed.  
  
_I’ve been researching,_ they continue, and he can feel a ponderous emotion nagging at the back of his mind. _When humans find something “funny,” they are supposed to laugh. But you refuse to._  
  
He scowls. _What, are you psychoanalyzing me now? Like being hijacked all the time wasn’t enough?_  
  
They fall silent for a moment.  
  
_I’m sorry_ , they say, the words tentative and experimental, and he blinks. _For all of that. I’m just… curious, I suppose. There is still so much I don’t understand about you. And human reactions seem important to learn, if I want to help the others._  
  
Talk about pure-hearted intentions. Isamu shifts in his seat and clears his throat, feeling somewhat gruff and awkward as he thinks: _Well, alright. For me it’s just. I can’t afford to get soft, y’know?_  
  
_Soft? Laughing would make you “soft?”_  
  
_Yeah._  
  
_And soft is a bad thing to be?_  
  
_Wha – no!_ He thinks this with enough vehemence that Naki seems to take a mental step back. Across the room, Hiden is now on a video call with a Humagear Isamu remembers seeing once before, chatting excitedly at a mile a minute, turning the phone all around to give them a thrilling view of the new office and its many unpacked cardboard boxes. Isamu drags a hand down his face tiredly. _No, it’s. Just not right for me, okay? Other people… it’s fine. Good, even._  
  
_Why not you, too?_  
  
God, it’s like dealing with a solemn and precocious toddler.  
  
_Because I’m the security guard_ , he thinks, putting emphasis on the obviousness of this fact. _That’s my role. I watch out for all the shit trying to get in the way, so that… So that his dream can come true._ He finds that he’s still staring at Hiden’s animated phone conversation, and glances away quickly. _You can’t ever get too comfy if you’re security. Get it? The second you soften up, that’s when somebody breaks through your defenses._  
  
Naki seems to consider this.  
  
_Am I a security guard as well? For the Humagears?_  
  
The corner of Isamu’s mouth twitches, which he pretends not to notice. _If you want to be_ , he thinks.  
  
_I do like the sound of it. Being the one who protects. But I think… I’d like to try laughing someday, too. It seems sad to never be able to._  
  
Isamu pauses. Swallows hard. He can feel those words settle gradually into the space between his ribs, a heavy weight that sits there like a stone. What a childish interpretation. Don’t be stupid, is what he wants to tell them. It’s just a job, not a lifelong sentence. Do you think there’s a law in place or something? An anti-laughter ordinance? And maybe they can still hear the muffled echo of those thoughts, but –  
  
_You’re right_ , is what he finds himself thinking instead. _It’d be nice if someone changed the job description._


End file.
